Metro Cash & Carry opens shop, traders see red

Metro Group, the ¤51 billion Germany-based global trading company on Monday announced the opening of its Cash & Carry Distribution Centre in Bangalore amid some stiff resistance from wholesale traders in the city.

The company which has invested around Rs 176 crore at its two distribution centres in the country, is expected to bring in some the best bargains for the retailer.

According to the company, the distribution centres will bring together producers, farmers, agricultural co-operatives and manufacturers with the community of traders, retailers and small and medium business enterprises under one roof.

However, the distributors and wholesalers are crying foul against this concept stating that this multinational will kill the local distribution channels completely and will put a huge segment of traders out of business.

But Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd managing director and country manager Harsh Bahadur said: "We are not here to eliminate any segments of business. We are here to provide a much better and efficient supply chain mechanism to the distribution process through our operations. Our concept promises much greater efficiency than the existing multilayered supply chain.

"Especially for retailers, this system offers the opportunity to substantially increase the efficiency of their own procurement "" they can purchase the goods more flexibly and at more favourable prices compared with the traditional procurement process. Our customers can now considerably reduce their inventories as Metro Cash & Carry permanently offers a comprehensive goods assortment at any time they want. In fact, by establishing this concept, we also ensure that the retailers are more competitive in their market place."

The first distribution centre offers a selling space of 6,500 square metres and stocks some 17,500 articles.

Metro Group CEO Hans-Joachim Koerber said: "Our operations in India with its high-quality goods assortment, exclusively targets business customers like small and medium sized retailers, restaurants as well as other businesses. The world-wide concentration on domestic suppliers, that is typical of Metro Cash & Carry, will also be practised in India. About 90 per cent of the goods offered originate from local producers and suppliers."

The company currently employs 750 people and is expected to add another 1300 in the medium term. The company also offers an opportunity to the producers to export their goods to other countries where Metro has operations in.

The company which has been operating this system since 1997 under Metro Group Buying has already exported directly merchandise with a value of euro 41 million from India.

Achtung!

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Metro has invested around Rs 176 crore at its two distribution centres in the country.

The distribution centres will bring together producers, farmers, agricultural co-operatives and manufacturers under one roof.

The first distribution centre offers a selling space of 6,500 square metres and stocks some 17,500 articles.